DB presses

BossArky

A question on dumb bell pressing:

When bench pressing with a bar your hands stay the same distance apart as obviously you have a grip on the bar.

However, when dumb bell pressing the hands start off wide apart but end up together when at the top of the range of motion i.e. over your face.

In the past weeks I have started tried dumb bell pressing whilst maintaining the distance between arms, pretending that I am gripping a bar. This is a lot harder.

Which way is the correct way to do dumb bell presses? I presume there is no correct way, and that the different arm distance just targets different muscles.

So, if I do the wide arms at the top of the range of motion what muscles is this hitting that the narrow grip at top of range of motion doesn't?

yomchi

BossArky wrote:

A question on dumb bell pressing:

When bench pressing with a bar your hands stay the same distance apart as obviously you have a grip on the bar.

However, when dumb bell pressing the hands start off wide apart but end up together when at the top of the range of motion i.e. over your face.

In the past weeks I have started tried dumb bell pressing whilst maintaining the distance between arms, pretending that I am gripping a bar. This is a lot harder.

Which way is the correct way to do dumb bell presses? I presume there is no correct way, and that the different arm distance just targets different muscles.

So, if I do the wide arms at the top of the range of motion what muscles is this hitting that the narrow grip at top of range of motion doesn't?

Don't over complicate it for yourself. The thing to understand is you want your pectorals to contract in their normal range of motion.

Simple exercise you can do right now - hold an arm in front of you, straight out and with your other hand feel your pectoral and tense it, now bring the the arm across your body (in the direction of your other shoulder) now tense it, feel the difference? You get more contraction the narrower or the more you bring your arm across your body.

Another one, pull one arm back as if it was on a bar and you were about to press it out, feel the contrazction with the other hand... Now let go off the 'bar' and pretend your holding a dumbell, widen your arm postion (like a DB fly) and contract - you'll feel more of the muscle at work. Maybe try these exercises against a wall so you have something to push off.

IMO DB presses are superior to BB, you get more of a stretch when your hands at resting point and at the full end of the postive you can acheive better contraction.

Hope it made sense!

Dragan

Jon wrote:

Don't over complicate it for yourself. The thing to understand is you want your pectorals to contract in their normal range of motion.

Pretty much exactly how i would have started my reply had i gotten here first.

My advice would be that each person has a slight different "track" or groove for each lift, depending on your structure, muscle imbalances etc. As such, you find what works for you. I like to move my empty hands ( as Jon was saying ) through the range of motion I would take for a specific lift and feel the contraction.

If I angle my elbow a certain way ( using the chest as an example ) does it amplify the contraction? It I look out or include my clavicle what happens? Moving a muscle under tension needs to be done in the same optimal fashion as when you have no added resistance….find the range of motion that works the target muscle best with no resistance….then add some.

bilbo79

This is a simple but definite rule that done proper technique is defo going to be perfect-when you start the dumbells are by your side directly above your hands-as you lift the arms are aiming to be straight so will have to move in an arc shape-during this the dumbells always stay directly over your hands till totally straight-then come down in reverse position-perfect

yomchi

Pretty much exactly how i would have started my reply had i gotten here first

Yeh but your posts always sound better than mine..clavical? isn't that something you dig your garden with

rubadub

I would imagine DB presses would help improve your max BB press. You are using stabiliser muscles more with the DB. Ever feel the strain and sort of lean a BB to one side doing a heavy BB press? You rectify by lifting more with the one hand, I am sure DB presses work the muscles that help you recover.